CHAMPAIGN — Most of the hype and anticipation surrounding the Illinois spring football game centered on the first chance for most fans to see sophomore transfer quarterback Wes Lunt.

The Rochester High School graduate sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, so this was his first game-like situation since he left Oklahoma State in 2012.

Fans had heard stories about some of the spectacular throws he has completed in practice with his arm strength and procession.

Lunt ended up on the winning end of the spring game as the Blue team clobbered the Orange 38-7 on a windy Saturday in Memorial Stadium, but the announced crowd of 5,105 saw one of Lunt's worst performances this spring.

Waiting game

Lunt was drafted number one overall by his teammates for this game but sat the entire first quarter because fellow quarterback Reilly O'Toole — another contender in Illinois' three-man quarterback competition — was one of the Blue team's senior captains. O'Toole and Lunt alternated playing the odd and even quarters respectively.

Lunt finally got into the game in the second quarter and the offense began with four consecutive rushing plays. When he finally made his first throw his intended receiver got jammed at the line of scrimmage and the pass was nearly picked off. On the second pass, two receivers ran the wrong route and Lunt was intercepted.

He did show flashes of excellence, for instance a 41-yard pass to Justin Hardee, and some perfect throws while operating the team's two-minute offense (although they were offset by three drops). Lunt finished just six of 16 for 99 yards and the interception.

Coach Tim Beckman said the quarterbacks rotating quarters likely made it difficult to establish any sort of rhythm.

“It is challenging but that is how a game is going to be; if you're the backup you got to be ready to go whenever,” Lunt said. “So I understand it. It was a little difficult to get into a rhythm.”

O'Toole was impressive from the opening drive, marching the Blue team down the field for a 15-play, 73-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Carroll. After a turnover, O'Toole engineered another touchdown drive to give the Blue team a commanding 14-0 advantage. He used his legs to create plays as well — an underrated ability for him — and added 30 rushing yards to his 12 of 17 passing for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

“Took care of the ball, which has been a key point for me this whole spring,” O'Toole said. “So did a good job of that and just getting the right plays.”

The third quarterback competing for the job is sophomore Aaron Bailey. His athletic ability was hindered by the rules of the scrimmage for a quarterback, where the moment he was touched he was marked down. Bailey is 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds, so it will take a greater effort than a touch to bring him to the ground this fall. He did unload a couple of impressive passes, especially throwing against a strong wind.

Page 2 of 2 - Beckman declined to name a starter or give any indication of where the team is leaning after the game, and the competition will play out into Camp Rantoul.

“Our quarterbacks have the things that they do well,” Beckman said. “And the things they've got to work on this summer are the things that we're not doing as well. So it's going to be a battle and we're looking forward to it.”

But some of the Illini's weaknesses were also on display in this game. Wide receivers ran incorrect routes. Their secondary surrendered too many long passes and the defense still missed too many tackles.

“A lot of time we were in position, we just didn't make the play,” said junior cornerback V'Angelo Bentley, who had an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown. “We want to work on the tackling involved, making the sure tackle, reading routes, jumping routes and just playing situational football.”